The Ultimate Running Partner: Garmin’s New Sports Watch

Whether you’re a casual weekend runner who enjoys heading into the woods for uncharted trail runs, or if, like me, you’ve gamely decided to tackle a marathon this fall, the Forerunner 405CX ($369.99), the latest in Garmin’s line of sports watches, offers a lift to any workout. A GPS-enabled device (which means it locks into a satellite signal to track your pace and distance), it also comes loaded with features for runners of any level, including, most helpfully, a virtual running partner. This tiny animated figure, who dashes across the face of your watch as you run, holds faithfully to whatever pace you’ve set for him and lets you know whether you’re lagging behind or burning up the trail too fast. Another handy feature allows you to set a location (a hotel, say, when you’re running in a strange city); take off on a random sightseeing tour, lose yourself in the alluring reverie of an endorphin high, and, once you’ve had enough, the GPS will guide you back to your starting point. After your run, the data wirelessly and automatically transfers to your computer, which keeps an ongoing tally of your workouts, including a detailed map of your routes, your average pace and heart rate, and calories burned. In our first few weeks together, my virtual running buddy and I logged more than 100 miles, and just having him around was a real boost on rainy or muggy or otherwise inhospitable training days. Despite his faults (he occasionally gets confused about our pace, especially around tall buildings or on bridges where satellite reception is weakest) and mine (lately I’ve had a paranoid sense that the little dude is trying to show me up on the hills), we’ve become inseparable. I think I’ll take him along for the marathon—as long as he doesn’t try to sprint ahead and break the tape before I do.